Ramaro shrugged. “I lost count after a century.”
My mouth dropped open. “You’re that old?”
“And older. I saw some of these ports pop up when I was a young agama.”
“Even the capital?”
He looked me over with a scowl. “I’m not that old. This place was created a thousand years ago. Even my kind can’t live that long, barring some dark magic that unnaturally stretches our years.”
My eyebrows shot up, and I looked between the two. “Can that happen? Living forever, I mean.”
Marc looked out over the bow and pursed his lips. “Not without sacrifice. All magic demands a sacrifice.”
Ramaro closed his eyes and stoically nodded. “Even my precious scales have to be sacrificed to make that powder you found so incredibly useful.”
“And this boat ride,” I added.
Marc tapped the top of the hilt of his weapon. “Speaking of that, we need those scales.”
Ramaro grumbled under his breath as he cozied up to the blade. He rubbed his side against the weapon and managed to pry a few scales loose. They tumbled to the board, and Marc was quick to snatch them up. He pried the knife out of the board and cut off a small lock of his hair before he held the weapon out to me.
“Take only as much as I have, and that should work.”
I reluctantly accepted the weapon and wrapped my hand around a small bundle of my hair. The blade cut through the strands like they were made of air, and the lock drooped in my hand. Marc held out his hands, and I gave him both my hair and his weapon. He tucked the knife back into his pocket and held the two strands of hair and the scales in one hand over the edge of the boat. His fingers opened, and the contents either kerplunked into the water or glided down to float on the waves.
I grasped the side and leaned over. Ramaro’s scales disappeared quickly, but our strands floated atop the surface for a while before sinking into the unfathomable depths.
The boat cut through the water as silently as the oncoming night. Nothing but darkness could be seen, at least at the outset. Something shimmered beneath the surface. I leaned forward and squinted. It looked like a streak of rainbow-colored light flitting on the same path as our boat. My eyes widened as more bands joined it, creating a bright flock of color that seemed to grow brighter and brighter the more I watched it.
“Rose!”
Chapter 4
The shout startled me, and I would have fallen in if Marc hadn’t jumped forward and grabbed my shoulder with one hand. He yanked me backward, and my back dropped against the bow of the boat. I whipped my head around and stared blankly at him. His face reflected his worry. Ramaro was just mad.
“You fool!” he snapped at me as his tail struck the back of his seat board. “You could have fallen in!”
I blinked at the pair. “I-I know I can’t swim, but you would have gotten me out, right?”
“And gotten ourselves in a mess of trouble with you,” Ramaro growled as he wrinkled his snout at the dark water. “There are things that follow this boat that shouldn’t be messed with.”
The color drained from my face. “What kind of things?”
He rolled his eyes. “Drowned sailors. Minor gods. Even a demonic horse or two. All very minor spirits, of course, and they’re quite useful in propelling the boat forward, but sometimes there are too many for the hairs to feed. Those that are fed push the boat. Those that aren’t follow it, waiting for something to drop.”
I lifted my bulging eyes to Marc. “Gods? Demonic horses?”
“The horses are demons of the deep and servants to the gods,” Marc revealed with a faint smile.
“But there are gods in your world? Like real, breathing gods?” I persisted.
Marc chuckled. “I wouldn’t say they breathe, but they do-”
The waters on our port side started to bubble. The next moment, something burst out of the ocean and arched over our heads, drenching us in the cold water. I found myself gaping up at the stomach of a horse, but like no horse I’d ever seen before. Its body was the color of dark green seaweed, and its hooves were like coral shells, even with the ribbed designs on the tops. Its eyes were a brilliant, glowing white, and its mane was made of the tides, ebbing and flowing from its body. The creature splashed down on the other side, sending the boat rocking violently.
Too violently. My stupor had left me unprepared for the violence, and I toppled overboard. The water was as cold as ice and blacker than the blackest night. I flailed around trying to figure out which way was up and down. My useless limbs propelled me in a rough circle, where I ran into something hard.
Hope sprang within me. It must be the boat. Then the water was lit up with those warning rainbow lights. My eyes widened as I found myself staring into the skeletal face of a drowned man. I let out a scream, and air bubbles escaped my mouth.
